| “What happened?” Mulder wondered out loud. “Something or someone blew out the door.” Piper responded. She peered outside through the hole in her wall. The door now was lying on the patio of Piper’s backyard. The hinges and screws used to keep it in place were sprawled out next to it. “You would have to have a lot of strength to be able to blow out a wooden door.” Mulder calculated. “Tell me about it.” Piper murmured. She and Mulder stood in awe for a moment before Piper broke the silence. “I think this is a sign. Maybe we’re supposed to go outside.” “Yea, I guess that’s what it means.” Mulder said. He pulled out his gun and was about to hold it out in front of him when he looked back to Piper. “What?” Piper asked, noticing Mulder’s strange look. “Where’s Max?” He wondered. He put his gun down by his side and walked back through the dining room and kitchen. Piper watched as he disappeared and then came back again. “Did you find her?” Piper questioned, praying that he did. Ignoring her question, Mulder’s temper began to flair. “Piper, you weren’t supposed to split up! I told you not to leave her! What were you thinking?” “We were together in the kitchen until you called for us. I figured she was following me.” Piper stammered. She noticed the sense of anger in Mulder’s eyes. “Look, I would never do anything to hurt my friends.” She paused. “I know I wasn’t thinking when I left her but now it’s up to us to save my friends whether Max is here or not.” Mulder released her shoulders and looked down at the floor. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten angry with you.” “We need to find out what’s going on outside.” Piper said. “You’re right.” Mulder held out his gun again. He began walking outside, taking the steps one at a time. Piper stayed right behind him, not letting go of the back of his shirt. They walked quickly and quietly over to the four mysterious plants. Piper looked around before directly looking at the plants. “Look around.” She said. “Usually there’s more people outside especially on a beautiful day like to do. There’s no noise. No animals, no birds. No even any wind.” “Weird.” Mulder commented. Piper looked down at the plants. ”Something tells me there’s a pattern here. Look.” Piper said as she pointed to each plant. Each of them had a small white tab sticking out of the ground just in front of them. The first flower looked somewhat like a rose but the card read C is for carnation. The second was the eucalyptus tree and it read E is for eucalyptus. The third was another type of tree and it read K is for kiwi. And finally the last, the newest one, was another flower. It read M is for Marigold. “A letter for each of your friends in the order they disappeared.” Mulder said, somewhat dazed by what he was finding out. “My friends turned into plants.” Piper said as calmly as she could under the circumstances. “Piper, let’s not jump to conclusions.” “Jump to conclusions! My friends are gone and now mysteriously four plants have popped up with the beginning of their first names! Don’t jump to conclusions my butt!” Piper yelled. Mulder was about to respond when he heard something from inside the house. It was as if something heavy had been dropped or tipped over. Piper looked to him, hearing the same sound. “What was that?” He wondered. “I don’t know but I think we should find out.” Piper responded. They both began to run towards the house. They hurtled the door on the ground and then bounded up the stairs. Mulder still held his gun out in front of him as he slowed his pace and began to walk around the house slowly. They walked through the sunroom and then into the dining room. The passed the living room and were about to go into the kitchen when Mulder pointed into the bathroom. “Oh my God.” He whispered. He pointed into the bathroom. Piper stepped in front of him and peered inside. A large potted plant was lying on the floor. All of the leaves had fallen off of it. “That was my mom’s favorite plant. She used to say that when you walked into the bathroom it was like walking into a jungle.” Piper said. “Piper, I think you’re missing the point here. Look at the floor.” She fixed her gaze from the fallen plant to the ground and finally understood what Mulder was getting at. The leaves from the plant were laid out on the floor so they spelled words. “The third brick.” Piper whispered, reading the message. “What does that mean?” Mulder wondered. “This is like a game. She’s playing a game with us.” “Who?” “Anabelle Winters, the botanist who used to live in my house. She wants us to find that check and make sure that it gets in the hands of the right people. She hid the check somewhere. She hid it in the third brick.” “Well, where’s this brick?” Piper thought for a moment. “The garage. The bottom of the garage is made of bricks.” Piper bolted out of the bathroom and back outside. Mulder rolled his eyes and walked swiftly after her. When he found her outside, she was kneeling in the dirt next to the garage, running her hands across the bricks. “Piper, you don’t know that this garage was even here when she lived here. You have no idea if this is even what she means. I mean, maybe this isn’t a game at all. Maybe it’s a…” Piper looked up at him. “A what? A coincidence? You’re telling me that those leaves spelling out the third brick is a coincidence? Get real. You’re sounding like Scully.” “At this point we could use her.” “Are you going to argue with me or are you going to help me look? You may not like my friends but personally, I do and I would appreciate your help in trying to save them.” Mulder sighed and got down on his knees. An hour later they still hadn’t found anything. Piper stood up and arched her back. Her face, hands, and arms were covered with dirt. Mulder looked the same. Piper sighed and looked towards the plants. They looked the same as they did before, thankfully. “So if it’s not here, where is it?” Piper asked out loud. “I don’t know.” Mulder said, standing next to her. He picked up his gun from the ground and put it back in its holster. “What else is made out of brick at my house?” “Hopefully something that isn’t surround by dirt.” Mulder said. He attempted to wipe the dirt away from his face but he only succeeded in putting more on. He scrunched up his nose. “Do you smell that?” “What?” Piper asked, sniffing the air. “It smells like…smoke.” “Maybe someone’s having a barbecue or something.” “Piper, look around. As you pointed out yourself, no one else is around. Who would be having a barbecue?” “Well, if no one is having a barbecue then…” “Something must be on fire.” Piper looked to the house and noticed smoke coming out of the chimney. “The fire place.” “What?” Mulder asked, looking to the roof. “The fire place is made out of brick. This is another one of her…games. Come on.” Piper ran back into the house. Mulder rolled his eyes and ran after her. He met her in the parlor, staring at the fireplace. “Piper, you can’t just keep running off…” “Look, there’s no fire in the fireplace.” “And your point?” “We saw smoke coming out of the chimney. And now there is no fire. I don’t know about you but to me, that is a sign.” Piper said. She kneeled down next to the fireplace. “The third brick.” She whispered. She counted the bricks from the ground up to three. She looked at Mulder and then pushed in the brick. The brick slid back towards the fireplace until neither Mulder nor Piper could see it. Piper stuck her hand into the hole and felt around. She felt a small, thin piece of paper. She grasped it between her fingers and took it out. She showed it to Mulder. |